Ep 88: Our Finest Gifts We Bring

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What can delivery drivers teach
us about the great gift bringer?

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We'll look at that in just a
bit.

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Good morning and welcome to the
show.

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I'm Daniel Dalp and this is for
your Sunday morning drive.

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We're the short podcast to offer
you some drive and encouragement

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on your way to worship or
whenever you listen.

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And I'm certainly thankful that
you are.

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Regardless of when you joined
us, I hope you and your family

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have a Merry Christmas and that
Santa brings you all the best

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gifts.
And Speaking of gifts, wow, what

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a transition.
If you're looking to get get

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something for that special
podcast host in your life, might

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I suggest sharing the show with
a friend?

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I'd certainly appreciate it if
you did.

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Well, let's get the show on the
road today.

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This is episode 88.
Our finest gifts we bring.

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Let's go to church.
Are we there yet?

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Thursday, the sun will rise on
Christmas morning and many

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families, mine included, will be
gathered around the Christmas

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tree to open gifts.
Thankful, of course, for those

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that have given the gifts and
made them possible.

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But do we ever pause to be
grateful for the gift bringers?

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Maybe it's a family member,
maybe it's jolly old Saint Nick

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himself, or maybe it's an
overworked, exhausted Amazon

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driver.
Yes, we owe a great deal to the

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gift bringers.
Kind of the modern day wise men.

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Over the last three years, my
kids and I have established what

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has quickly become one of our
favorite new holiday traditions.

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We put a Christmas tree on our
front porch, bake some cookies,

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and then put them in a cooler
under the tree.

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Then we hang a sign on our front
door that reads the following.

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To Amazon and other delivery
drivers, please help yourself to

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some cookies.
Merry Christmas and thank you

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for all you do to make this time
of year merry and bright.

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Now, our favorite part of this
tradition is to sit back and

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watch on our doorbell camera as
smiles appear on the faces of

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those who come to drop off our
packages.

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I'll be sure to share some of
those videos on the website.

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And the purpose of this yearly
service project is twofold.

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To teach my kids how to spread
some Christmas cheer by giving

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and serving others, and to say a
much deserved thank you to the

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gift bringers.
As I was thinking about that

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earlier this week and finally
having the last Christmas

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package delivered by one such
delivery driver, I felt that

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relief that comes from finally
having the Yuletide shopping

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done.
And it makes me think about just

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how much we have to be grateful
for.

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Indeed, what would we do without
the gift bringers?

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Well, tis the season.
So let's shift our focus to the

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gift bringers that deserve our
eternal Thanksgiving, our God

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and our Savior.
What is astounding is that God

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is both the source and the
bringer of all good gifts.

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James 117 says every good thing
given and every perfect gift is

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from above, coming down from the
Father of lights with whom there

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is no variation or shifting
shadow gifts, by the way, that

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we are in no way deserving of
whether we are naughty or nice,

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we're undeserving.
Now it is well beyond impossible

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to try and cram a list of all
the gifts brought and given by

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our great and glorious God into
a 6-7 minute episode.

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So let's just take some time and
look at the greatest and the

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best of them.
John 316 For God so loved the

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world that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whoever

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believes in Him should not
perish, but have ever lasting

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life.
You see, God gave the greatest,

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most costly gift imaginable, His
Son.

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And he didn't stop there,
because that gift he sent, Jesus

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brought with him a gift just as
valuable and just as necessary

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to mankind, salvation, eternal
life.

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Romans 623 For the wages of sin
is death, but the gracious gift

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of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord.

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What a great gift bringer.
What an amazing gift.

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And Paul said it best when
describing the gift of grace and

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salvation in 2nd Corinthians
915.

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Thanks be to God for His
indescribable gift.

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Yeah, we are so blessed, but how
do we then show our thanks for

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the great gift of heaven?
The wise men brought the Christ

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child gifts of gold,
frankincense and myrrh.

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But how do we ensure that, as
can happen this time of year, we

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don't don't just discount the
generosity of the giver and the

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faithfulness of the bringer.
Well, Scripture tells us we show

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thanks by giving him our all,
our everything.

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Romans 12/1 and two says.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers

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and sisters, by the mercies of
God, to present your bodies as a

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living and holy sacrifice
acceptable to God, which is your

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spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this

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world, but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind, so that

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you may prove what the will of
God is, that which is good and

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acceptable and perfect.
We say and give thanks by

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offering up our lives to Him,
every word, every thought, every

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step, every intention
transformed in and through Him

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in devotion and worship.
You see, our thankfulness to a

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God that sent and to a Christ
who came should be reflected in

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our understanding of this truth.
That one of the greatest truths

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that Scripture teaches about
God's generosity is this.

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He did not merely give
something, He gave himself.

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And when it comes to gifts, what
more could we possibly ask for?

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Well, those are my thoughts for
your Sunday morning drive.

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Now it's time to hear yours.
Our discussion questions for

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this week are what are you
thankful for this Christmas?

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In what areas can we better show
our gratitude towards God and

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Jesus?
And who can we tell about the

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great gift of His mercy and
grace?

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I hope you have a Merry
Christmas.

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Thank you so much for listening
and I'll see you Sunday.